Low-carb craze defies logic

Groups urge FDA to crack down on carbohydrate claims

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - On its face it would seem to be an oxymoron: Low-carbohydrate pasta.

But as low-carb diets sweep the nation, everyone's getting on the bandwagon, and such logic-defying products are showing up on grocery store shelves and restaurant menus across the country.

Thomas' has a line of Carb Counting Plain Bagels while Dannon touts its Light 'n Fit Carb Control dairy snack. You can now put a dollop of Heinz's one-carb ketchup on a Burger King bun-less Whopper and sink your teeth into a Russell Stover low-carb candy for dessert. You can even wash it down with Michelob Ultra, a low-carb beer.

The American Italian Pasta Company
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is launching a reduced-carb pasta later this month that cuts the per-serving amount to 19 grams from 39 grams in regular pasta, says Dan Trott, president of AIPC Sales Company. In January, Frito-Lay
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announced its equivalent: Tortilla chips called Doritos Edge and Tostitos Edge that have half the carbohydrates of its top-selling brands, expected to hit stores in May.

As Americans struggle to contain their rapidly expanding waistlines, products labeled low-carb may lull some into a false sense of security, says Bonnie Liebman, director of nutrition for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"This low-carb craze may exacerbate the (obesity) problem by making some people think, 'Oh, I can eat this and the calories don't count,'" she says. "There is no free lunch but people keep hoping there will be, and the food industry is right there trying to convince them that these products are going to help people lose weight."

Defeating the purpose

While some people lose weight on low-carb diets, it isn't necessarily sustainable and the assumption that eating fewer carbs is healthier than maintaining a higher-carb diet isn't always true, says Althea Zanecosky, a registered dietician and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association in Philadelphia.

"Americans want to fix their weight problem and always seem to need a villain," Zanecosky says. "Right now carbs are the villain. Ten years ago, fat was the villain."

The average American adult should consume at least 130 grams of carbohydrates a day -- that's about 45 to 65 percent of daily calories from carbs such as starches, sugar and fiber, according to the National Academy of Science. The Atkins diet calls for people to limit their daily carb intake to 20 grams initially.

"Just to get enough carbs to fuel your brain, you need about 100 grams or more," Zanecosky says, noting the downside risks. "I would think it would be difficult to maintain any exercise routine without getting enough carbs because carbs are what you fuel your muscles most efficiently."

An estimated 32 million Americans are on some kind of high-protein, low-carb diet, according to a Harris Interactive poll done last summer.

In the rush to jump on the new dietary craze, manufacturers may try to convince consumers to swap their regular food products for low-carb ones in an effort to capture more of the daily carbohydrate allowance. In reality, the companies are cannibalizing each other as they fight over an almost negligible share of daily carbs.

And then there's the cost issue. Adhering to a low-carb diet may eat into your pocketbook compared with simply cutting portion sizes of regular products. Heinz's one-carb ketchup is priced at $1.79 compared with $1.49 for the original.

AIPC's all-wheat pasta, under the Mueller brand on the East coast and Golden Grain in the West, is made by isolating proteins and fibers and sells for $1.99 a box - nearly twice the $1 price of the original, Trott says.

"We don't believe pasta is negative for you when consumed at appropriate levels, but we have to listen to the marketplace," he says. ""We're playing both sides of it."

Calling for standards

As popular diets such as Atkins, South Beach and Zone catch on in greater numbers, food companies and restaurant chains are promoting some products as low-carb without an official definition from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Support for labeling requirements is coming from two seemingly opposite factions: The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents packaged-food heavyweights such as ConAgra Foods
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and PepsiCo, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

Both groups asked the FDA this week to regulate carbohydrate labeling as it has for the contents of other components such as fat and sodium.

CSPI proposes that a low-carb food have no more than six grams of carbohydrates per serving while the GMA proposes a nine-gram limit, Liebman says. The Center also wants the FDA to permit the term "reduced-carb" only for foods that have at least 25 percent fewer carbohydrates.

"Companies have already done an end-run around the FDA with these other carb claims," she says of nebulous terms such as "carb smart" and "carb aware." "They're avoiding all the rules that would apply if they were making a claim about fat or sodium or calories."

The FDA also should prohibit companies from making their own distinction about so-called good carbs and bad carbs, she says. Many firms calculate a measure they call "effective," "net" or "impact" carbs, a marketing move that could wreak havoc with consumers, she says.

"What if some company starts subtracting carbs that don't cause tooth decay?" Liebman says. "The label would become this zoo of competing numbers that would totally confuse or in some cases mislead people...It could create chaos if companies subtract nutrients for reasons they decide are important."

CSPI also is urging the FDA to require labels that make a carb claim to print "not a low-calorie food" to avoid confusion and keep the obesity rate from rising further, as it did after the low-fat craze a decade ago.

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